YES YOUR EYES ARE DECEIVING YOU, BUT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO AS THIS IS A GREAT MASQUERADE!
"A couple of Sundays ago, I was standing on the front porch of Hazel's third daughter, Teresa, in Rocky Mount. We were watching those big bees with a bright yellow body I always called yellow jackets. They were in a feeding frenzy on a couple of azalea bushes in full bloom.
While watching, the bees were joined by what appeared to be a cross between a bee and a hummingbird. Yep, that's right. It had a long snout, or feeder tube as it's called, like a hummer, zips around like a hummer, has a tail like one, but it has two antennae. This one was about the size of a baby hummer but bigger than one of the bees feeding of the nectar.
Someone in the group observing the oddity said they had seen one before that was bigger. At first glance, they thought it was a hummingbird.
So I go to Google and find out it is a Sphinx Moth found in the eastern part of the U.S. and commonly called the hummingbird clearwing. It's real name is Hemaris Thysbe, for the record.
I went to the website www.silkmoths.bizland.com/hthysbe.htm and saw some outstanding photos in stunning color, one in particular by Lonnie Huffman." ...
...Article from The Franklin News Post. Read the complete article here by Morris Stephenson our local well loved journalist and bird lover!
BRFAL Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalist loves Hummingbird Moths/Hummingbird Clearwings (although we are supposed to call them by their proper scientific name if we can remember it... Hemaris thysbe See more images of these amazing creatures here
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